AF’s Best Adoption Books | Adoptive Families

Many of the titles named here were nominated by AF readers. In the end, however, these are the AF editors picks—and we have the optometrist bills to prove it! Happy reading.

AF Picks: Best Memoirs

The Waiting Child: How the Faith and Love of One Orphan Saved the Life of Another
by Cindy Champnella
The extraordinary story of a child’s persistent campaign to bring home another child left behind in an orphanage in China. Anyone who loves to read will find this book moving and inspirational.

I Wish for You a Beautiful Life: Letters from the Korean Birth Mothers of Ae Ran Won to Their Children
Sara Dorow, ed.
Heartbreaking letters by Korean birth mothers to the kids they placed for adoption; illuminating to anyone touched by adoption.

Borrowed Finery
by Paula Fox
An austere, unflinching description of a childhood shuttled among foster homes.

ITHAKA: A Daughters Memoir of Being Found
by Sarah Saffian
Twenty-something Saffian answered the phone one day, and her birth mother was on the line.

The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant
by Dan Savage
An edgy, frank depiction of open, domestic adoption by one of the most honest writers on love and family life in America.

In Their Own Voices: Transracial Adoptees Tell Their Stories
by Rita J. Simon and Rhonda M. Roorda
“Enlightening and encouraging for those of us who step beyond the boundaries of race. Realistic, honest, and free of social inhibitions.” —Carrie Lapid

An Empty Lap: One Couples Journey to Parenthood
by Jill Smolowe
This infertility story touches everyone who reads it with its brutally honest emotion. Smolowe coined the phrase, reluctant spouse.

Love in the Driest Season
by Neely Tucker
Tucker’s struggle to adopt an abandoned infant while living in Zimbabwe puts a human face on the AIDS crisis in Africa.

The Adoption Reader: Birth Mothers, Adoptive Mothers, and Adopted Daughters Tell Their Stories
Susan Wadia-Ells, ed.
A carefully selected collection of intimate essays, representing every perspective in the adoption triad.

Secret Thoughts of an Adoptive Mother
by Jana Wolff
“Wolff takes you on her domestic adoption journey and expresses all the thoughts we are not supposed to have. You’ll find that you are not alone in your confusion, joy, and sorrow.” —Beckie Merrill

AF Picks: Best Adoption Storybooks

How I Was Adopted
by Joanna Cole; illustrated by Maxie Chambliss
This book confronts the tough subjects of adoption—conception, childbirth, birth mothers—all in a child-friendly way. Great line-drawing illustrations.

Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born
by Jamie Lee Curtis; illustrated by Laura Cornell
“The illustrations are hilarious. The story is simple and realistic. It shows how special adoption stories are and how, once the child is in your home, it is so like any other parent/child relationship. For me it is full of love.” —Julie Ryno

You’re Not My Real Mother!
by Molly Friedrich; illustrated by Christy Hale
“My little girl loves this book. It is the first one about adoption that she has shown more than a passing interest in. She asks for this book to be read to her over and over.” —Carmi Henderson

We Adopted You, Benjamin Koo
by Linda Walvoord Girard; illustrated by Linda Shute
A book that resonates with every six- to eight-year-old who contemplates what it means to be adopted. The author writes exactly the way kids talk.

A Mother for Choco
by Keiko Kasza
“This sweet book appeals to children on such a deep level. Choco gets what he is really looking for—a mother’s love, his own family, and his own home. It is a beautifully comforting book that makes kids feel happy and secure.” —Peggy Scott

Over the Moon
by Karen Katz
“This book tells a tale that is true to each of our familys adoption stories and mentions the birth mother in a natural way. It was a wonderful jumping-off point for adoption talks with our kids when they were very young.” —Lisa Gibbs

The Day We Met You
by Phoebe Koehler
“This is a sweet story for preschoolers, conveying the joy and anticipation that parents feel as they get the call and prepare for their new baby.” —Laura Young

I Love You Like Crazy Cakes
by Rose Lewis; illustrated by Jane Dyer
“What a wonderful, reassuring story to read to your child to open the discussion of adoption. Spectacular illustrations.” —Donna Kirkwood

Families Are Different
by Nina Pellegrini
Kids love the whimsical drawings and light-hearted message that families come in all different forms, all of them held together by the glue called love.

AF Picks: Best How-To & Service Books

The Complete Idiots Guide to Adoption
by Christine Adamec
“Funny, informative, helpful. It gave me some good advice, as well as encouragement. It didn’t scare me as most other how to get started books do.” —Barbara James

Being Adopted: The Lifelong Search for Self
by David M. Brodzinsky, Marshall D. Schechter, and Robin Marantz Henig
A useful book for clarifying whether your child’s behavior indicates a normal, developmental stage or is rooted in adoption.

Attaching in Adoption
by Deborah D. Gray
Offers practical advice to help parents solidify an attachment; useful for the parent of any child.

Toddler Adoption: The Weaver’s Craft
by Mary Hopkins-Best
“Honest, straightforward, practical, hopeful advice for weathering the adopted child’s transition. It gave me strength, and saved my sanity!” —Diane DiGiorgio

Wanting a Daughter, Needing a Son
by Kay Ann Johnson
A reality-based account of the complex sociological issues surrounding the adoption of children from China.

Adopting After Infertility
by Patricia Irwin Johnston
“Helps you assess the losses of infertility and decide whether you’re ready to adopt. Once you are, it will help you navigate the adoption process.” —Carolyn Halliburton

Raising Adopted Children
by Lois Ruskai Melina
“This book provides so much practical, realistic advice about raising our son. We continue to use it as a reference as he grows older.” —Kara Peek

Lifebooks: Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child
by Beth OMalley
OMalley’s book will change the way you think about your child’s past.

Real Parents, Real Children
by Holly van Gulden and Lisa Bartels-Rabb
The only detailed source of information about children’s adjustment to adoption at different ages.

Talking with Young Children About Adoption
by Mary Watkins and Susan Fisher
“Contains honest, sometimes gut-wrenching, first-person accounts of adoptive mothers’ discussions with their children”. —Diane DiGiorgio